Did Coldplay Steal An Unknown Band’s Song?

Coldplay‘s new album sold 302,000 in three days, easily making it the No. 1 album in the UK this week. But it’s not all sunshine and daffodils for the British band: Creaky Boards, a little-known band from Brooklyn, claims Coldplay stole the melody for “Viva La Vida” from their song, coincidentally titled “The Songs I Didn’t Write.” Creaky Boards have posted a video on YouTube comparing their two songs and accusing Chris Martin of having ripped off their song after watching the band play at CMJ. Publicity stunt by some bar band wanting a chance at the limelight or shameless theft by a big, bad major-label behemoth? Watch and discuss…

Mint Royale maintains its hold on the No. 1 spot in the UK, with Rihanna trailing behind. Not a ton of change on this week’s chart, but I’m really psyched about Ne-Yo‘s “Closer” and Chris Brown‘s “Forever” – two songs that bridge the gap between American R&B and European techno. Here’s this week’s chart:

The lead singer of The Zutons, who made the original version of “Valerie,” hopes Amy gets it together. “She’s like, ‘You know, I can’t even be bothered dealing with all this situation.’ She might just like to be a husky singer in a shady club, which could be good as well. I hope she sorts it out. I hope she becomes happy, and if she’s happy now then fair enough.”(The Sun)

There’s much ado about Duffy in today’s Times. In an interview, Duffy claims she has a new boyfriend but adds, “I’m a commitment-phobe. Why? I don’t know…It’s the only thing I’m afraid of.”

Luke Pritchard claims The Kooks will do what Arctic Monkeys failed to do, and that is conquer the U.S. “It’s really going great over there. Radio is really picking up on the album. Arctic Monkeys have just died over there. They were huge for their first album but it hasn’t happened with the second one.” This jealousy toward the Arctics is just sad. Get it through your head, Luke: they’re better than you.(The Sun)

Keisha Buchanan of Sugababes says Boy George should have replaced Sharon Osbourne on X Factor, not Cheryl Cole. Before you chalk this up to girl-group sniping, I think she’s on to something: he would have brought both Simon Cowell‘s bitchy quips and the Paula Abdul trainwreck factor.(Mirror)

It must be National Plagiarists’ Day in Britain: Dr. Raj Persaud, a former medical presenter for BBC Radio 4, admits having passed off “other researchers’ work as his own in articles published in journals and national newspapers.”(BBC)

Kate Middleton looks on adoringly as Prince William is installed as a “Knight of the Garter.”(The Times)

The new movie, The Edge of Love, starring Matthew Rhys, Keira Knightley, and Sienna Miller, has inspired interest in the life of poet Dylan Thomas (played by Rhys). The Daily Telegraph makes a pilgrimage to Thomas’ Welsh home.

The great Mark Rylance received a Best Actor in a Play Tony for his role in Boeing-Boeing. Rylance had been reluctant to even submit his name, but he told The Stage: “there are more important things to put my foot down about, and the producers have been so much effort and money into getting me here that I am going to go along. The awards are a shop window to sell shows, and if more people come to them because the Tony makes them feel confident that it is worth risking $99 on a ticket, I understand that.”

Kevin Wicks

Kevin Wicks founded BBCAmerica.com's Anglophenia blog back in 2005 and has been translating British culture for an American audience ever since. While not British himself—he was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri—he once received inordinate hospitality in London for sharing the name of a dead but beloved EastEnders character. His Anglophilia stems from a high school love of Morrissey, whom he calls his "gateway drug" into British culture.